Recent reviews by MrsEsterhouse

Hard pressed to find better value in shooters with this one. Easy to jump in and do a quick mission, or poop sock it for great democracy. Effects, sounds, visuals are outstanding. Blowing things up, the action of the firearms, clangs of the auto-cannons, nuclear detonations, close air support, orbital support, all just adds up to a great gaming experience. Solo play is possible up until a point where enemies and objectives really need that extra effort. Friendly fire is always on, you'll die in brutal yet hilarious ways, or by your own hand - least of all the hulking bots and voracious swarms of bugs. Ongoing war map with communal objectives, consistent items added to game, bit grindy as progression goes - you would need to spend real world currency to keep up with releases, but the core set is plenty for the casual player. All in game currency can be earned or picked up in game.

The battles in this game can really test your hardware, as in the impact resistance of your keyboard and mouse. Victory is sweetest asphyxiating assaulting marauders or teleporting rock men and giant mantids with the aid of a death dealing boarding drone to purge an enemy vessel. Each ship you send out is either going to be victorious or be torn apart, only saves are to pick up from one run. Luck finding parts in encounters can be a maddening factor at times, but the victories are nail biting and will leave you pumping your fist damning your enemies to the cold vacuum of space.

Combat is very strategic with regards to timing your weapons, targeting specific areas of enemies, and keeping your crew alive by any means. Sometimes this means sending someone in to repair the O2 while the airlock is opened to bleed fires out. Seconds matter and thankfully you can pause anytime to assign actions, which is critical. Well worth the 10 for fun. Replay may suffer after unlocking ships or winning

Before considering this title know there are issues with multiplayer over Internet and you'll have to use U-Play to access the game. Now that's out of the way this game is just FUN. Single player story overall was very good. A few levels seemed less thought out than others. Playing the story will help you build your arsenal for use later in the game. Once done with the story I found "Denialble Ops" - here you are tasked with taking out 10 targets in an area before moving on to the next. In one mode getting detected means more people come for you or in another its game over. This part for me is worth a majority of the price. I can sit down and jump into some good sneaky action. Pulled off a number of multiple kills that left me grinning and laughing wishing someone had been a witness. Must buy if it comes down to $10, would pick up @ $20 if this sort of game is appealing

Over the shoulder 3rd person action shooter and Orcs...Orcs everywhere. Visually the game looks great at high settings and the weapons sound beefy and lethal. Can't say I enjoy the single player portion too much. Health is only replenished by stunning a foe then finishing them. A checkpoint system will have you playing the same portion over and over should you not jump through the hoop they have setup.

Multiplayer co-op however is a blast. A leveling system makes starting out a bit rough, but after 3 rounds you should have unlocked the basics. Exterminatus has 20 progressively more difficult waves broken up in 4 stages. You'll have to use teamwork to survive and learn which class of orc has to be dealt with first. Everyone respawns from a pool of lives that can be refilled by scoring points. Unleashing the full potential of the Devastator cutting down orcs is just pure gaming bliss. Assault Marines are equally fun to play using jump packs to into the fray

Play it for the story or just to go on a homicidal rampage. You can grab people and run up the sides of buildings, hold them over the edge and watch them struggle before you either A consume them with your tendrils or B chuck them hundreds of feet, leap over the edge and freefall to the sidewalk, then just tear up the city just cause if you did that in real life while awesome, most people frown upon it. Run through traffic vaulting over cars and flip throw one at an elderly person. Why? Cause you can

Fun side scroller that gives a puzzle / strategic twist the ability to on the fly change characters to best use your abilities to overcome obstacles and fight enemies. Maxed out the visuals are very rich and the physics are smooth without any stutter. Character animations make the combat very....fun, small touches like the stance the warrior takes in defense - shield raised tracking your mouse movement. Worth a look if the price is right, $19.99 is a bit more than I would be comfortable paying for a side scroller these days, but that's just me. A very good casual to more astute or discerning *eyebrow raise* gamer

I have been put off by the console-game look of this title but recently gave it a shot with the free weekend and price reduction. Even with in-game practice my first online game was rough to say the least. Capture points and stealing bags of gold are the primary gamemodes. Gameplay is centered on your teams' flag which can be picked up by anyone allowing dead players to respawn back at the start or on their flagholder. Dying means the flag drops and remains til either the opposing team touches it sending it back or your team picks it up and carries it onward. The gunplay is very fast and in your face with the exception of the Trapper or patient Deputy. You can run and tumble off 2nd floors not missing a beat which makes for interesting uses for the landscape when the gunplay gets heavy. Very happy I picked this one up and spent a few hours with it. The maps are well done and not too big to the point where you feel out of the action. Skin yer smokewagons and see what happens!

How you conjure and cast magic in this game keeps you on your toes frantically at times. When you get the hang of the keystokes to cast spells the game really gets fun when you can charge a melee weapon and send out a shockwave of earth with many other elements however you want to combine them. Shields, fireballs, AoE effects, beams you name it, you can pretty much do it. Co-op is good times, FF is always on and never...ever cross the beams.